November 27, 2018, Introduced by Rep. Howrylak and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 267, entitled
"Open meetings act,"
by amending sections 3, 7, 8, and 13a (MCL 15.263, 15.267, 15.268,
and 15.273a), section 3 as amended by 2016 PA 504 and sections 7
and 8 as amended and section 13a as added by 1996 PA 464.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 3. (1) All meetings of a public body shall be open to the
public and shall be held in a place available to the general
public. All persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting except
as otherwise provided in this act. The right of a person to attend
a meeting of a public body includes the right to tape-record, to
videotape, to broadcast live on radio, and to telecast live on
television the proceedings of a public body at a public meeting.
The exercise of this right shall not be dependent upon the prior
approval of the public body. However, a public body may establish
reasonable rules and regulations in order to minimize the
possibility of disrupting the meeting.
(2) All decisions of a public body shall be made at a meeting
open to the public.
(3) All deliberations of a public body constituting a quorum
of its members shall take place at a meeting open to the public
except as provided in this section and sections 7 and 8. For
purposes of this subsection, public body includes a partisan caucus
of members of a state or local legislative or governing body to
consider matters before the legislative or governing body.
(4) A person shall not be required as a condition of
attendance at a meeting of a public body to register or otherwise
provide his or her name or other information or otherwise to
fulfill a condition precedent to attendance.
(5) A person shall be permitted to address a meeting of a
public body under rules established and recorded by the public
body. The legislature or a house of the legislature may provide by
rule that the right to address may be limited to prescribed times
at hearings and committee meetings only.
(6) A person shall not be excluded from a meeting otherwise
open to the public except for a breach of the peace actually
committed at the meeting.
(7) This act does not apply to the following public bodies,
but only when deliberating the merits of a case:
(a) The Michigan compensation appellate commission operating
as described in either of the following:
(i) Section 274 of the worker's disability compensation act of
1969, 1969 PA 317, MCL 418.274.
(ii) Section 34 of the Michigan employment security act, 1936
(Ex Sess) PA 1, 421.34.
(b) The state tenure commission created in section 1 of
article VII of 1937 (Ex Sess) PA 4, MCL 38.131, when acting as a
board of review from the decision of a controlling board.
(c) The employment relations commission or an arbitrator or
arbitration panel created or appointed under 1939 PA 176, MCL 423.1
to 423.30.
(d) The Michigan public service commission created under 1939
PA 3, MCL 460.1 to 460.11.
(8) This act does not apply to an association of insurers
created under the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.100
to 500.8302, or other association or facility formed under that act
as a nonprofit organization of insurer members.
(9) This act does not apply to a committee of a public body
that adopts a nonpolicymaking resolution of tribute or memorial,
which resolution is not adopted at a meeting.
(10) This act does not apply to a meeting that is a social or
chance gathering or conference not designed to avoid this act.
(11) This act does not apply to the Michigan veterans' trust
fund board of trustees or a county or district committee created
under 1946 (1st Ex Sess) PA 9, MCL 35.602 to 35.610, when the board
of trustees or county or district committee is deliberating the
merits of an emergent need. A decision of the board of trustees or
county or district committee made under this subsection shall be
reconsidered by the board or committee at its next regular or
special meeting consistent with the requirements of this act.
"Emergent need" means a situation that the board of trustees, by
rules promulgated under the administrative procedures act of 1969,
1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, determines requires immediate
action.
Sec. 7. (1) A 2/3 roll call vote of members elected or
appointed and serving is required to call a closed session, except
for the closed sessions permitted under section 8(a), (b), (c),
(g),
(i), and (j). (h), and (i). The roll call vote and the purpose
or purposes for calling the closed session shall be entered into
the minutes of the meeting at which the vote is taken.
(2) A separate set of minutes shall be taken by the clerk or
the designated secretary of the public body at the closed session.
These minutes shall be retained by the clerk of the public body,
are not available to the public, and shall only be disclosed if
required by a civil action filed under section 10, 11, or 13. These
minutes may be destroyed 1 year and 1 day after approval of the
minutes of the regular meeting at which the closed session was
approved.
Sec. 8. A public body may meet in a closed session only for
the following purposes:
(a) To consider the dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of,
or to hear complaints or charges brought against, or to consider a
periodic personnel evaluation of, a public officer, employee, staff
member, or individual agent, if the named person requests a closed
hearing. A person requesting a closed hearing may rescind the
request at any time, in which case the matter at issue shall be
considered after the rescission only in open sessions.
(b) To consider the dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of
a student if the public body is part of the school district,
intermediate school district, or institution of higher education
that the student is attending, and if the student or the student's
parent or guardian requests a closed hearing.
(c) For strategy and negotiation sessions connected with the
negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement if either
negotiating party requests a closed hearing.
(d) To consider the purchase or lease of real property up to
the time an option to purchase or lease that real property is
obtained.
(e) To consult with its attorney regarding trial or settlement
strategy in connection with specific pending litigation, but only
if an open meeting would have a detrimental financial effect on the
litigating or settlement position of the public body.
(f) To review and consider the contents of an application for
employment or appointment to a public office if the candidate
requests that the application remain confidential. However, except
as otherwise provided in this subdivision, all interviews by a
public body for employment or appointment to a public office shall
be held in an open meeting pursuant to this act. This subdivision
does
not apply to a public office described in subdivision (j).(i).
(g)
Partisan caucuses of members of the state legislature.
(g) (h)
To consider material exempt from
discussion or
disclosure by state or federal statute.
(h) (i)
For a compliance conference
conducted by the
department
of commerce under section 16231 of
the public health
code,
Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of 1978, being section
333.16231
of the Michigan Compiled Laws, 1978
PA 368, MCL
333.16231, before a complaint is issued.
(i) (j)
In the process of searching for and
selecting a
president of an institution of higher education established under
section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of the state constitution of
1963, to review the specific contents of an application, to conduct
an interview with a candidate, or to discuss the specific
qualifications of a candidate if the particular process of
searching for and selecting a president of an institution of higher
education meets all of the following requirements:
(i) The search committee in the process, appointed by the
governing board, consists of at least 1 student of the institution,
1 faculty member of the institution, 1 administrator of the
institution, 1 alumnus of the institution, and 1 representative of
the general public. The search committee also may include 1 or more
members of the governing board of the institution, but the number
shall not constitute a quorum of the governing board. However, the
search committee shall not be constituted in such a way that any 1
of the groups described in this subparagraph constitutes a majority
of the search committee.
(ii) After the search committee recommends the 5 final
candidates, the governing board does not take a vote on a final
selection for the president until at least 30 days after the 5
final candidates have been publicly identified by the search
committee.
(iii) The deliberations and vote of the governing board of the
institution on selecting the president take place in an open
session of the governing board.
Sec. 13a. If the governing board of an institution of higher
education established under section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of
the state constitution of 1963 violates this act with respect to
the process of selecting a president of the institution at any time
after the recommendation of final candidates to the governing
board,
as described in section 8(j), 8(i),
the institution is
responsible for the payment of a civil fine of not more than
$500,000.00. This civil fine is in addition to any other remedy or
penalty under this act. To the extent possible, any payment of
fines imposed under this section shall be paid from funds allocated
by the institution of higher education to pay for the travel and
expenses of the members of the governing board.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 6510 (request no.
05687'18 a) of the 99th Legislature is enacted into law.